On this New Year...

May the Lord God bless us all

Have a safe, happy and prosperous one....

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Merry Christmas

From my household to your household:

Merry Christmas! May you and
your family be blessed. May you give
love and cheer to others
who are in need. May the Lord's
grace forever shine on you. Remember that
the reason for the season is Jesus!

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The Chosen Ones

I have always been in awe of the Jewish people. Jesus, after all, was Jew. The nation has gone through numerous seemingly unsurmountable problems all through out its long history. But! the Jews always ended up triumphant. They are, undeniably, the Chosen people.

There is an online forum for Jews online called Jewish Chat. It is a site that provides a perfect forum to meet and chat with fellow Jews. Visit www.Jewishchatcity.com to check the site out. Membership is totally free.

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The Messiah

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son,
and shall call His name Immanuel.”
Isaiah 7:14



For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.
Isaiah 9:6-7

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Nouveau Riche

How would you like to be one of the nouveau riche?Nouveau Riche is French for new rich or new money or refers to a person who has acquired considerable wealth within his own generation. Impressive feat just like www.nouveauriche.com. What is Nouveau Riche? It is your door to successful real estate investing. It's noted founders; Jim Piccolo, Mary Piccolo and Bob Synder have combined the applied knowledge from the Nouveau Riche College and the support from the Nouveau Riche community to build and change the landscape of real estate investing. Nouveau Riche offers world class education in real estate investing. Whether you are a seasoned investor or a student of real estate investing, Nouveau Riche can meet your individual needs. The college offers programs for students with varied educational and experience levels. Some of the more notable courses being offered are: S.E.E.K 101 which stands for (Super Entrepreneurial Encyclopedia of Knowledge), R2E2™ (Residential Real Estate Encyclopedia) home study program and the Coaching program session. S.E.E.K offers 10 video modules to cover subjects like entrepreneurialism, marketing, source funding, franchising and more. R2E2 on the other hand is a 15-volume series of helpful information on real estate strategies and concepts. The Coaching program consist of 8 weeks of 1/2 hour one on one coaching session to hone your skills in real estate investing. Go check the site for more information.

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The Silent Night

OBERNDORF, Austria --- Each year, on December 24, a special passenger train pulled by a bright red electric locomotive heads out of the train station in Salzburg for a half hour trip to the village of Oberndorf. A multitude of languages can be heard as passengers from all over the globe become Christmas pilgrims, heading for the birthplace of the world's best loved Christmas carol "Silent Night."

At the same time, the Oberndorf streets are crowded with cars bearing license plates from neighboring European Churches can be seen across the nations and filled with people who have raced along the autobahns to arrive in time for the special Christmas Eve "Silent Night" twilight service.

Throughout the world, "Silent Night" which has been translated into more than 200 languages, is an anchor for Christmas celebrations. Its lullaby-like melody and simple message of heavenly peace can be heard from small town street corners in mid-America to magnificent cathedrals in Europe and from outdoor candlelight concerts in Australia to palm thatched huts in northern Peru. The original church of St. Nicholas where "Silent Night" was first heard in 1818 was torn down in the early part of this century after sustaining damage from the flooding of the nearby Salzach River. The Silent Night Chapel was erected on the spot in front of the main altar where Gruber and Mohr stood with the choir to sing the six-stanza carol. In a higher section of town, another church was built and the original pulpit and altars from the old church were moved there. At Christmas Midnight Mass, singers stand in front of the same altars and recreate the moment when the song heard 'round the world was first performed.

Research by Bill Egan, Christmas Historian

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Christmas Programs

As a child, I diligently participated in our church's Christmas program. The program was always held, then, on December 24, right before the Christmas Eve Worship service. Those Christmas programs were well attended by the church congregation. However, there never was a year where my mama was ever present to watch. My mama is a dentist but she opted to become a retailer of textile and clothing in Divisoria like my two aunts. December was and still is a busy busy month for businesses in Divisoria that's why I was always motherless during these programs.

I remember dressing up in my Sunday's best for the program. For four Sundays and sometimes Saturdays, our Sunday school teachers labored to teach us songs, dance and drama for the program. There was one Christmas where I had a pair of be-ribboned spoon and fork as instruments. There was one presentation that I was tasked to be one of the angels together with my cousin Minerva. While on stage with Mary, Joseph, Jesus, the three Kings, shepherds, cows and sheep, my cousin and I fought for space on stage. Her wings were getting taking up to much space and I was being blocked from view. Thus, the nativity included two quarreling angels. There was this one Christmas where our newly appointed pastor's wife put up a children's choir. We sang Dona Nobis Pacem. Of course I didn't know what that meant but I enjoyed that experience and might have even inspired me to go into choral conducting years later.

Every Christmas program ended with the giving of white gifts. I never fully understood why the gifts were called "white" aside from the fact that they were wrapped in white paper - usually bond paper. My favorite "white" gift to bring was a can on Darigold. It was convenient - the pantry has stock - and easy to wrap. After the program, each one of the us were given a loot bag with an apple, an orange (dalandan, not sunkist) and candies. I and my church batch mates faithfully attended the children's Christmas programs until our 6th grade. After that, we were teeners and can't possibly be caught dead joining the Children's Christmas program. Oh, btw, dona nobis pacem means give us peace.

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It's Not X'mas

I did an article on why Christmas shouldn't be X'mas, in my other blog. A fave blogger, domjullian commented and here's his comment.

It Isn't Xmas, but Christmas
by Cathy (AllFunPages)

It isn't Xmas, but Christmas
For that's the day Christ came.
When you take Christ out of Christmas
You cross out life's best name.

I wonder why they cross out Christ,
The best that God could give.
I wonder why they've forgotten.
That we for Him should live.

Why take Christ's name out of Christmas?
For He came to set us free.
If we had Christmas without Christ
How hopeless we would be.

Why, is it ~ that they cross out Christ,
The greatest gift of all?
Why, is it ~ that nobody cares
Or listens to His call?

To me ~ X stand for nothing,
Then why, cross His name out?
To me ~ Christ means everything
He took away my doubt.

I'll never try to shame my Lord,
I'll keep His name in place;
Then when life here below is over,
I'll see Him face to face.

Let us all, "KEEP CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS"
Love and serve Him this year.
It isn't Xmas but it's Christmas,
Ring it out, loud and clear.

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